After
a slow start in the mid eighties with several unpopular
formats, betting on AFL football through Tabcorp and
other institutions has grown to a massive seasonal
turnover. This partly reflects the growth of the AFL
competition into a truly national one, but is also
due to the passage of time. Punters take a while to
warm to a new form of betting and to familiarise themselves
with the format offered. Also, as pools become bigger,
some punters who previously could not gamble for the
amounts they would like without affecting the odds
too much, are able to become involved.

Betting
on the AFL competition has a number of things to recommend
it.

Firstly, there is a large skill element involved,
so it is theoretically possible that if your insight
into the game is sufficiently penetrating you can
be a long
term winner.In fixed returns forms
of betting like most casino games this is not the
case.

Another
important positive associated with AFL football is
the 'clean' record of the sport with regard to the
integrity of results. Unfortunately this cannot be
said of horse and greyhound racing or international
cricket.

With this form of sports betting there is also a high
level of entertainment value involved, especially
if the punter supports the club they are betting on.
AFL football is one of the most exciting team games
in the world and, like horse racing, there is an atmosphere
surrounding the activity that adds an extra level
of enjoyment to the gamble. Playing roulette for instance,
even if it averaged a theoretically better return,
is unlikely to evoke the same pleasure from winning
that a well researched prediction borne out in an
entertaining football match can produce.